From Dim to Darkness and Into the Light
Is this the Start of Something?
Digital Art by Emma Berry, National Silver Medalist
Waking, she hissed at the stiffness in her joints. Zakah swiveled to the edge of the bed and prepared for the crackles and creaks of joints and ligaments as she rose to standing. “Another beautiful day,” she remarks with success. Padding the short distance to the kitchen, reciting the Modah Ani—the morning prayer of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness—she realizes the front door stands ajar. Cautiously peering through the opening, she spies a woodland creature nibbling in her spinach patch, which constitutes a large portion of the vegetable garden. She considers scaring it away but is curiously drawn to the animal; it is no ordinary woodland breed.
The creature was covered in silky red hair with patches of white about its face and tail. It seemed to move with methodical intention—plucking, sampling, and moving row by row throughout the garden. “What to do? What to do,” she thought. Just then, as if perceiving her thoughts, it stood upright, glanced in her direction, and vanished.
A strangled yelp escaped Zakah’s throat as she pressed the door closed. She remained a good while, her back against the planks, considering her next move.
Is there something more? Does the tale continue, or does Zakah remain stuck, her back to the door, with no escape? In From Dim to Darkness and Into the Light, a theological journey weaves and winds through fantastical terrain, blending mythical lore with spiritual import—I hope. I haven’t written it yet.
My inspiration comes from the creative writings of George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis. They were geniuses at their trade. But the theme is also inspired by current events and biblical prophesies. The signs of the time continue to plague the corners of my mind. In particular are Yeshua’s words that hint at end-time social conditions remanescent of the days of Noah:
“For just as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. And they did not understand until the flood came and swept them all away. So shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. Then, two men will be in the field, one taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one taken and one left” (Matt. 24:37-41).
What did those days look like? Yeshua envisions an age that has returned to the primordial chaos—in a sense, an age of undifferentiation. In the days of Noah, the natural order became mixed. As it were, all of creation became a spiritual and geneaological tohu va vohu, or waste and chaos. The distinctiveness of mankind became mixed. As Peter explains, the “sons of god” (angelic beings) interbred with human women, leaving their natural order (2 Peter 2:4-6; cf. Gen. 6:1-4). That order was established “in the beginning” when God created purpose from the material world. The biblical narrative does not give the material creation story but rather its ordering. In other words, when the curtain lifts on the creation story, the material creation has occurred, and we are given a glimpse at the undifferentiated conditions.
The biblical author describes God’s ordering of the existing material, giving it purpose and mission. Some scholars suggest that this functional creation1 is all the text provides, while others describe creation as ex nihilo (out of nothing). I, however, propose that we are given hints of God’s creative attribute, ex nihilo, where the text says, “Let there be,” but also functional organization of the material that exists when the narrative opens.
Regardless, Noah’s era became chaotic. The Book of Watchers, 1 Enoch, extends the biblical narrative. Though it was not included in the Protestant canon, 1 Enoch, The Watchers, was included in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean canons. There are a few explicit and implied citations in the Protestant New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Jude 14-15; 4Q201, 204; 2 Peter 2:4-6).
In my Substack, “Trusting God in These End Times” (Feb. 2023), I expound on the citations that directly and indirectly deal with the lawlessness of the last days:
The Enochian literature begins with “Ethiopic Enoch” or “1 Enoch” but includes three books with multiple sections and was highly valued by the Qumran and Jewish communities throughout antiquity. It enjoys explicit and implicit New Testament attention, with over one hundred precedence-setting comments (Joseph Lumpkin, 12). For example, the opening chapter (v.9) describes God’s judgment on all, using language similar to 1 Thessalonians 3:13. Jude 14-15 is the most explicit. The first book expands on details given in Genesis 6 but also elucidates end-time events, reserving predictions for a “remote generation” (1:2).
Simply, Noah’s generation was characterized by lawlessness, violence, and sexual deviance:
These are the genealogies of Noah. Noah was a righteous man. He was blameless among his generation. Noah continually walked with God. Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was ruined before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and behold it was ruined because all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth (Gen. 6:9-12, TLV).
Two things jump out at me in this verse: 1) Noah was blameless, and 2) the earth was ruined.
The Hebrew word translated as “blameless” is tamim. Tamim, the plural of tam, can mean blameless, as indicated. However, it can also mean complete, unscathed, or blemish-free. I prefer “unscathed” or “blemish-free” because these interpretations better fit the narrative of Genesis 6:1-4, which describes the corrupted human genome. In this sense, Noah’s DNA remained unscathed or free from the genetic anomalies wrought by the union of divine entities and human women.
Given this understanding and the appearance of giants on Earth, one gets the impression that the human genome underwent a transformation (transhumanism) that was not according to God’s design. Humanity took on the mixed form of otherworldly beings, creating a breed of “superhumans” known as the Nephillim and their descendants, the Raphaim and Anakim. God cleansed the earth with a worldwide flood.
God intended for humanity to represent him—to be his image-bearers. Genesis 1:26 describes the creation of humankind using the terms tzelem (image) and d’moot (likeness). Tzelem is best understood as a figurine or statue, while d’moot conveys a similar idea with a subtle difference. D’moot refers to the form that the figurine assumes. Therefore, God created humans to resemble him! Yes, God is spirit, but consider the shape that Yeshua took:
But He emptied Himself— taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found (born) in appearance as a man (emphasis added (Phil. 2:4, TLV).
I emboldened the key words because I want you to see that the Greek text uses the same terminology found in Genesis 1:27 to describe Yeshua’s nature as a human. In Greek, form is morphē, and “likeness” is homoiōma (shape). They are very closely related and seem interchangeable but for the Genesis context. Again, one term denotes a figurine representing the image, while the other describes its shape. Perhaps this is why God is keenly opposed to idol-making: we are his image-bearers!
The second key point is the corruption of Earth. Eretz, the Hebrew for “earth,” can mean the globe but more commonly refers to the ground or the land. In the days of Noah, the soil was corrupted with the blood of violence.
Today, many people are aware of the toxic impact of chemicals and metals sprayed on our soil or filtering down from above, contaminating our food sources. Indeed, the soil and food supply have been corrupted, as they were in Noah's day.
As in a fictional tale, the end of days will usher in chaos and spiritual spectacles characteristic of the days of Noah. Men’s hearts will give out for fear at the sights and sounds coming from the heavenlies (Luke 12:26). Scientific tinkering with the genetic processes seeks to alter a God-ordained design meant to represent him. And maybe that is their nefarious intent. When the days of Noah are fully realized, it won’t be fiction, and it won’t be a nightmare from which to awaken. The only way out is through the blood of the Lamb of God.
Blessings—
Dr. Nicholas J. Schaser, “Study Genesis Stories for All They Are Worth,” Israel Bible Center, Session 6. “Functional Creation” is a phrase that Dr. Schaser expounds upon and proposes as one reads the opening two verses of the creation story. Though I believe the narrative reveals both of God’s processes, functional and material, I am indebted to him for his analysis.